‘Yes, boss.’ With a wink, she picked up a glass and clinked it against mine. ‘Now he can’t moan about it later.’
To my surprise, Elliot arrived with the last of the church stragglers. It wasn’t that I expected him to live holed up in the cottage feeling sorry for himself, but given how he struggled to remember people’s names, or process too much information at once, a large, loud gathering seemed like a lot for him to cope with.
But then I watched him making his way through the crowd. How he smiled, exchanged a couple of sentences here and there, his blond hair glinting in the sunshine, and I remembered how effortlessly he used to talk to people, how he’d always shone in social situations.
I felt a simultaneous wave of pleasure – that he was still able to manage something like this – and heartache, that it must surely be so much more challenging than before.
Arthur was a minute or two behind, scurrying along beside a woman who I knew with one glance must be Elsa, the new curate he’d fallen for. She was tall, with a sturdy frame dressed in an orange playsuit, her hair in blonde plaits which instantly made me think of Vikings. Her strong features created a face that was warm and good-natured, and she was a woman who I suspected more than a few of the single men had noticed.
‘Hi Arthur.’ I hurried over, deciding the only decent thing to do was interrupt his monologue.
He finished his sentence, which included something about a painting, and then said hello.
I waited a few seconds until realising that Arthur wasn’t going to do it, and introduced myself.
‘I’m Jessie. Arthur’s new housemate.’
‘Isaac’s twin?’ She beamed. ‘How amazing to meet the beauty to Isaac’s beast!’
She bent her head a little closer. ‘Only joking! I think Isaac’s charming.’ Her face immediately froze. ‘Not that I was joking about you being beautiful! I bet you’re totally lovely inside and out. I mean, look at your family! Your mum, soooo sweet! And your dad, gorgeous! Not that I think he’s gorgeous in that way, of course! I meant personality not looks! No hang on, I don’t think he’s ugly or anything… just… oh, farts, I totally do not fancy your dad!’
She looked at Arthur for help, face stricken, and to my surprise he actually stepped up.
‘Jessica knows what you meant. She grew up with Isaac and is living with Elliot and me, which means by definition she’s not easily offended.’
‘You must be Elsa?’ I asked.
‘Yes! Have they mentioned me?’ she asked, a pretty pink circle appearing on each cheek. ‘I’ve just started at the church. I’m still finding my feet, really.’
‘Elliot mentioned that Arthur was really pleased to be working with you.’
‘Oh, that’s so nice of him.’ Her face switched to delighted as quickly as it had plummeted earlier. I could see what Elliot meant about her energy. Her social intelligence, not so much. ‘I’m very happy to be working with Wood’s, too.’
‘Yes, well, if you don’t mind, I was updating Elsa on the progress of my latest grave hunt,’ Arthur said, waggling his caterpillar eyebrows in a manner so unsubtle he might as well have simply told me to go away.
Before I was forced to find someone else to talk to, Connie started banging a pan with a metal spoon, declaring the buffet to be open.
‘No taking more than one of Pippa’s cheese tarts each! Oh, and the cake is from Bob and Winnie. If they can tear themselves away from the Chicken Coop, don’t forget to congratulate them. Enjoy!’
Once a mass of children had grabbed plates and started piling them high, I waited another couple of minutes for a queue to form before jumping into the line behind Elliot because I thought he might appreciate a familiar face in amongst the hoards. Plus, he was the only person I knew whose opinion on food I completely trusted, and this was a buffet – choosing wisely was everything.
‘Hey,’ I said, causing him to turn around. ‘It’s Jessie.’
He lowered his eyebrows. ‘Are you going to introduce yourself every time we have a conversation? Is it because you’ve forgotten my name and you’re hoping I’ll introduce myself back?’
‘No!’ I shuffled about, an awkward smile tugging at the side of my mouth. ‘There’s a lot of people here. You might have found it harder to place me in a different situation…’
‘Jessie, I told you. I won’t ever forget who you are.’
‘Okay.’
‘Okay, then. How was the wedding?’
‘Isaac worked me so hard I didn’t have time to take in much, but it seemed a lovely day. Everyone was happy. Apart from Winnie’s dad, who still considers Bob totally unsuitable to inherit the family farm.’
‘Is he?’
‘Well, he’s seventy-three, which I would think makes running a farm a challenge. But then, Ezra is ninety-two and he’s still up with the cows, so what do I know.’
